Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Down 1.4%

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s share price traded down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $69.26 and last traded at $69.44. 3,031,104 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 17,609,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, June 10th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.83.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.34. The company has a market cap of $561.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.